Nix's 30-day Rebar diet

[SteveC]

via Imgflip Meme Generator

[Fuzzbucket]

Call me crazy, but I like Winter.   

Nice shots, Steve!

I've a very deep rooted love for snow - the happiest i ever am [or ever will be] is trudging about in the stuff... it's hard to explain without sounding like a knob.

[Nix]

I've a very deep rooted love for snow - the happiest i ever am [or ever will be] is trudging about in the stuff... it's hard to explain without sounding like a knob.

Yes!  I'm eager for snowshoe season to start. 

[Fuzzbucket]

I've a very deep rooted love for snow - the happiest i ever am [or ever will be] is trudging about in the stuff... it's hard to explain without sounding like a knob.

Yes!  I'm eager for snowshoe season to start. 

... that and Jaffa Cakes.

[Don Pablo]

Day 11:

True to their bold motto, the US Postal Service braved the snow to deliver the mail today. Used the Rebar's 'awl' to open a small package of great interest.

(Image removed from quote.)

He doesn't believe me when I tell chocolate isn't good for dogs. 

40 cakes?! 

[Nix]

40 cakes?! 

Should be enough for tea this afternoon. Ja?

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(Actually, I stashed a box out in the freezer before Mrs Nix spotted them. Word to the wise.  )

[Nix]

Day 11 (continued):

Decided it was time to maximize the Rebar's cap-lifter potential. 

[Exeter]

Hmm, soon I'll be joining the Rebar club, it arrives in the next couple of days, I can't wait. This thread played a part in me wanting one. 

And I'd like to enter the GAW if I may, my choice would be #1 as my XE6 is storm grey as well.

[Nix]

 Thanks!

Current Juice S2 GAW list:

#1-SPADES:

Ace: SteveC
King: Exeter
Queen: ----
Jack: ---

#2-HEARTS:

Ace: sir_mike
King: Loopcutter
Queen: jaya_man
Jack: ---

#3-DIAMONDS:

Ace: Glockfan
King: ----
Queen: ----
Jack: ----

#4-CLUBS:

Ace: an0nemus
King: ----
Queen: ---
Jack: ----

[Nix]

...soon I'll be joining the Rebar club...

I hope you'll post some initial impressions and do a review at some point. 

With the Rebar, I feel like I've come full circle.

I started my multitool life with a Leatherman PST. I wandered around trying different MT's from SOG, Gerber, and Leatherman, but nothing quite seemed to fit. I was occasionally attracted to new MT's with new features or tools, but most of these new MT's ended up in a drawer or given away. With the Rebar, I feel like I'm back where I started and am very happy for it. Hope you enjoy yours! 

[LoopCutter]

This has been the most enjoyable 30 day challenge thread I had the pleasure to read and participate. 

Nix it is great how you have adapted to the Rebar and shared your insights.


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[Nix]

Day 11 (continued, again):

I hope I don't bore you guys here, but since I used the Rebar for the following project, I figured I post up some pictures & impressions.

Today's project was to make some tinder/fire starters.

I'm not sure where I learned about the following idea, but once I tried it, I never used anything else. I like carrying a little tinder with me to start a cook fire or an emergency warming fire. Winter has arrived and I like playing out in the cold and snow. Having read Jack London's To Build A Fire as a boy, I've always valued the ability to get a good fire going in cold weather.



In a military survival training course, I learned to make fire starters/candles out of 4x4 gauze, Vaseline, and tinfoil. These are great and versatile, but not always convenient to use. (If you guys want more info or pictures of these, let me know.) Everyone has heard of Vaseline impregnated cotton balls (they work great). But somewhere along my travels, I learned about paraffin-coated jute.

I've never used anything else since.

Jute is, by itself, quite flammable. It is very fibrous and can be teased apart to form a wonderful tinder. Just a plain tinder 'nest' of teased out jute will catch a small spark. Add some paraffin and you've got a great fire starter that is more or less waterproof and will work under most any conditions. I'm always a bit more confident when trekking in the back country with the ability to make fire easily and quickly. So I prize these fire-starters.

Anyway, today I decide to make a few more of these gems.

First, I cut some jute into 16" lengths (That's 41cm for the more sophisticated readers.). A 16" piece of jute is sufficient to start several fires. I usually use a 5-6" piece.



The knife worked well here, cutting 8 strands of jute simultaneously with ease.

I then tie the pieces of jute into small skeins. This is just to keep them organized into small bundles I can pack easily into a fire kit or survival tin.



So the next step is slightly dangerous and you need to pay attention. I keep a fire extinguisher handy. You will be handling flammable materials around fire. This is dangerous and requires attention. Don't leave the room to check on MTo while you do this.

I melt regular household paraffin wax in a disposable can. I do this by placing the can on a metal flame-diffuser on the stove top. See? Open flame & flammable stuff = danger. Pay attention, be careful. To the paraffin I add a bit of oil (almost any oil will do: peanut, olive, mineral), maybe 5% oil to 95% paraffin. This helps keep the paraffin a little more supple when it cools (I think).

I used the JCAT (Jaffa Cake Access Tool) to score and break my paraffin off into neat chunks for melting. This worked really well.



After the paraffin has melted and it has been removed from the stove. AFTER it is NOT near an open flame. I add a little kerosene to the melted mixture of paraffin and oil (90% paraffin, 5% oil, 5% kerosene). AFTER there are NO open flames nearby! The kerosene helps the mixture penetrate the jute and keep it supple after the jute skeins cool.

At this point, the mixture is still warm and highly flammable. This is not the time for a cigarette break. (In fact you should give up smoking altogether.) Dunk the jute skeins into the liquid paraffin and give 'em a good swirl, being sure to get them thoroughly saturated.

I then place the skeins on a tray to cool and harden.



These fire starters will likely last me all winter. It's always easy to make a few more. I've made this sound a bit complicated, but it only takes a few minutes. The key thing is to be careful melting the wax and be sure to avoid handling hot ,flammable substances like paraffin, oil, and kerosene around an open flame. Because it's a FIRE HAZARD. Seriously, if you try this, be aware that making fire starters can be risky, especially for starting a fire. Use good judgment and keep a fire extinguisher handy!

So, the Rebar worked well for this project. Good knife and the JCAT worked nicely for an alternative task like breaking paraffin into chunks. These fire starters are fantastic--the jute can be teased out into a fibrous nest more easily than a Vaseline cotton ball. This makes it much better at catching a spark or a match flame. Try 'em, I think you'll be converted as well.

p.s. I should add that I usually store these in a plastic bag to help them stay dry and keep the paraffin from rubbing off onto to other gear. However, I usually cram one into a small survival tin as well. I've never had a problem with that. In addition to a fire starter, you now have a 16" piece of cordage as well. Or bigger, if you make 'em bigger.

[Nix]

This has been the most enjoyable 30 day challenge thread I had the pleasure to read and participate. 

Nix it is great how you have adapted to the Rebar and shared your insights.

Thanks, LoopCutter, you guys help to keep me motivated. And as long as we're all having fun, it's all good.

More to come.......

[Don Pablo]

...now I need to find some paraffin and kerosene. 
 

[Nix]

...now I need to find some paraffin and kerosene. 

The kerosene may be optional. It's my own little twist. You can use melted paraffin on it's own perfectly well. Or add a bit of Vaseline or peanut oil. I do think the kerosene helps the mix penetrate the jute better, but it's pretty optional.

[Poncho65]

Very cool rundown on how to make those, Nix Great stuff in this thread

[ThePeacent]

that's a neat invention...so sad we don't have extreme winters here, or any excuse to build these up...

[an0nemus]

This Challenge is raising the bar higher for future Challenges 

Unfortunately the black Rebar I won won't be arriving anymore as I cancelled it. I'll just wait for my silver Rebar to arrive, mostly likely next month. In the meantime, this Challenge is such a treat!

[Nix]

Sorry you had to cancel the Black Ox Rebar, but, based on my brief experience so far, I think you'll like the stainless one just fine!

[Nix]

Day 12:

Kicking off day 12 with some pocket carry. Decided to add a lanyard to see if the lanyard or it's knots would interfere with the tool uses.



(grapevine, bosun's)

[SteveC]

 

[Nix]

Day 12 (continued):

I did a little sewing today. I needed to switch out needles, which involves loosening a small screw. I usually employ the large flat driver bit on a SAK to do this, but for the challenge I went with the Rebar. There was just barely room to use the Rebar with the driver fully extended. Even with a large SAK, e.g. the awlsome Pioneer X, I usually open the flat drive to the 90º position. The SAK has a 90º stop that makes this just perfect. With the Rebar, I kinda missed that 90º stop. I think that would be a nice addition to the design of this tool. Nevertheless, it worked just fine.




What really surprised me today were the wire cutters. I had to cut some fine cord. Instead of using the knife, I just tried the wire cutters. And they worked! It took two 'cuts', but the cord was cleanly cut. I find that pretty amazing. It speaks well to the tight tolerances of this tool.



For comparison, I tried cutting the same cord with my previous favorite, the Charge AL, and could not cut the cordage. I tried three (3) times. Each time, the cordage would fray and get partially cut, but it never cut all the way through. Win: Rebar.

[Poncho65]

Nice stuff today I remember somewhere that someone cut another lock notch in some of the tools to give them a 90 degree stop  Can't remember who ATM but I know I have seen it Also adding the LM bit adapter is a big plus with any LM that have the square Phillips adds some length and you can use the flat bits or regular 1/4 inch bits

[Nix]

Nice stuff today I remember somewhere that someone cut another lock notch in some of the tools to give them a 90 degree stop  Can't remember who ATM but I know I have seen it Also adding the LM bit adapter is a big plus with any LM that have the square Phillips adds some length and you can use the flat bits or regular 1/4 inch bits

Oooooh, I hadn't heard of that option. Thanks!

[Poncho65]

 

[Nix]

Day 12 (continued):

So on these 30-day challenges, I like to use the challenge knife to prep a chicken. And tonight is chicken night!

Prepping a chicken seems to give me a sense of a knife's feel and control as well as testing some edge strength--I always bump into a bone or two as a feel my way along.

Here's this eveing's chicken:



I've buried the most graphic pictures in this Spoiler:

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Backbone removed. The Rebar's blade shaped worked nicely for feeling along rib joints and cutting through some smaller bones. With a bigger. more powerful knife, I'd just cut through bone and all, but with the more delicate Rebar, a little finesse was called for.



You can see here that I've removed the ribs, pelvic bones, and wishbone. The Rebar was brilliant doing these tasks.

And here's the bird, well spatchcocked, seasoned and ready for the oven.



I had wondered if the blade's 'inboard' orientation would be a problem, but I didn't notice that at all. I'm not going to call this blade my favorite Bird & Trout knife, but it did really well and proved very capable.

I did clean the Rebar thoroughly with hot, soapy water. I felt that I wasn't likely to get the lanyard--the one I put on this morning--cleaned to a food-sanitation standard; so, that got cut off and tossed out with the trimmings.

After the Rebar was cleaned up, it got pressed into paring knife duty to trim and score the base of some Brussels sprouts. (Mrs Nix Loves Brussels sprouts.) Here it did well, but the obtuse  edge geometry definitely felt a bit more cumbersome as compare to a fine paring knife. Still I worked well and would be great in a camp kitchen for similar tasks.



I can't comment clearly on edge holding here. After I washed it, I did give it a light stropping (force of habit). I just tested it now and it is hair-shaving sharp, but not hair-popping sharp. So, if the edge was worn, it came back really quickly with a light stropping. That's very good news.

Win: Rebar

[Poncho65]

Glad to see that it is earning its keep

I have always liked the Rebar blade and it has always been a good all arounder

[LoopCutter]

You discovered a great option that both the Rebar and SuperTool series permits. Extending the handle length by folding the handle out and tucking the head into the handle.

Great job on the chicken, expect it was good.


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[Nix]

Extending the handle length by folding the handle out and tucking the head into the handle.

Good point. This is a feature I really like. I think the PST did this as well. Now that you mention it, I think I used to try to do this with the Charge.....doh! 

And, yes, the "Rebar Chicken" was very tasty. 

[ducttapetech]

Nice work on that bird. Looks very tasty.